Friday, 27 January 2017

Cute jumper for my little niece using Rowan pure wool superwash DK in chalk. The pattern is by Sarah Cook and is available to download from Ravelry for £3.60. The instructions from age 12 months to 10 years, so it is good value in my view. The construction is bottom up in the round; knitting the body and sleeves separately and joining at the yoke. I'm not sure of the benefit of bottom up in the round as it is a bit more fiddly that top down, if you know please enlighten me. It worked out fine, although I had to re-knit the yoke after misplacing my markers first time round. I am sure I will make more of these.

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

I knitted this blanket for close friends that are currently expecting their second child.

It is super easy, as its names suggests and the simple construction is a good excuse to pick some bright colours. I rarely use garter stitch, but it dies make a nice springy cosy blanket. I choose Debbie Bliss Rialto dk as they had colours I liked. I have not been very impressed with Rowan of late and thought I'd give DB a go. Not much different to Rowans superwash wool that I can tell. It was a little splitty, but no problems other than joins in the balls (enraging). Colourways can be found on my Ravelry profile and the pattern is available here.

Friday, 24 June 2016

I bought some lightweight white spot cotton from the Cloth House in Soho a few weeks ago. I wanted to make a light casual top, with a simple shape to make the most of the pattern. I liked the drawstring waist of my recent simplicity 8084 dress and decided to modify it to make a sleeveless tunic.

I am pleased with the result. I used French seams for a neat finish inside and to stop the loose weave cotton unraveling. The neck and armhole edges are bound with bias binding.

I have been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and decided to time myself. It took 5hrs 30minutes. Don't think I'd make the cut, however I did make my own bias binding and put the back section on back to front, so about an hour was unpicking three French seams.

Tuesday, 7 June 2016

I saw this dress pattern while pursing fabric in my local fabric store and bought the fabric to make it then and there. I like shirt dresses and have wanted to make one for a while, but had not found a pattern that I liked. I was drawn to this pattern as it is shown on the pattern envelope in a nice drapery red crepe which reminded me of this dress I have on my Pinterest fashion board (if only I was as stylish in real life as on Pinterest!)

I chose a viscose crepe in teal. The colours were limited in the shop I was in and although I love the teal, it would look lovely in a cobalt blue or my favourite colour if the moment, yellow.

I decided to underline the front, back and yoke sections of the dress with some standard lining fabric. I used cream as it was what I had. I did this to add a bit of weight and warmth as I hate when a unexpected cool summer breeze goes straight through your dress fabric. The lining also helped to stabilise the slippery crepe.

The pattern instructions were easy to follow and Mimi G has a helpful tutorial on YouTube. I like that the pattern uses a yoke instead of just front and back pieces as it adds some interest with the gathers. The most difficult part of the construction were the button plackets and the collar, but they were not very hard. It took me about three days to cut, Mark and sew.

It is really comfy to wear, especially because of the drawstring waist. I used plain 1/2 inch buttons down the front, except on the top button and sleeves where they can be seen.

I took the picture a few days after I had first worn it. The hem has developed a crease where it is blind-hemmed to the underlining and needs to be unpicked, smoothed out and resewn. I used a knit interfacing on the collar and it is not up to the job, unsurprisingly. The collar is a bit too droopy and folds over with this drapey fabric. Not a disaster, but i will make sure I use a stiffer interfacing next time.

Sunday, 29 May 2016

Today the sun has come out and I am heading to a barbecue so I am taking full advantage and pulled on my modified simplicity 2281 dress (blogged here). I have added a bit of casualness with my wear everywhere denim shirt. I really should find a good shirt pattern and make my own someday, soon.

Monday, 16 May 2016

Monday 9th May- Vogue 1287. I thought I had blogged this dress but I hadn't. I did blogg a yellow jersey version here. This version is made from a some sort of poly/viscose mix which is nice except it has a slightly odd but not unpleasant smell when wet.

Wednesday 11th May- blue mohair/silk knit top. I made this top up as I went along. It is basically shaped like an uppercase T with no waist shaping or anything complicated. It is made from Rowan kidsilk haze and was very cozy for a spring day. I wish I had made it baggier, especially the sleeves, which would have been avoided with a bit more planning. The edging is done in moss stitch with the yarn doubled. The rest is single strand stocking stitch.

I failed the rest of the week. Spent the weekend doing DIY in some old splattered jeans.

Tuesday, 10 May 2016

I have not sewn much in the last two years and didn't take part in MMMay inn 2014 or 2015 and my me made wardrobe has shrunk depressingly. Thinking back to MMMay 2013, it is sad to see that quite a few me mades have passed over to the other side. More room in the wardrobe for new stuff!

Sunday, 3 April 2016

I recently visited Riga in Latvia where I came across a beautiful shop in the old town called Hobbywool selling yarns and handmade lovely knitted goods. I didn't have room to bring many things back, but I did buy 4 skeins of black alpaca, light finger-weight yarn. Once I returned home I decided I wanted more and they were kind enough to send me another 6 skeins in the post.

Currently leaning towards making a Smaragd jumper by Svetlana Volkova, available on ravelry. However the sun is out today so I might start some summer knits instead.